


Arc 1 - Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

by EdeatheDemonFox



Series: Chirithyverse [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Big Brother Dick, Brief descriptions of parents dying, Bruce Wayne Adopts Child(ren), Characters bonding, Healing from trauma, It's my soft spot, My First Work in This Fandom, Original Character(s), Possibly OOC, Soft Bruce Wayne, Soft Parent Bruce Wayne, Sorry Not Sorry, Superheroes, cliches, heavily inspired by the 1966 series, no name villains, song lyrics mentioned near the end, very brief villain scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26281495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdeatheDemonFox/pseuds/EdeatheDemonFox
Summary: Alfred nodded thoughtfully. "Does that mean she will be staying here?"For a moment, Bruce didn't answer, merely frowning at the computer as if it would tell him what to do, though deep down, he already knew the answer, even emotionally stunted as he was.Just like with Dick, he had to take her in, legally adopt her so that no one else could get their grimy hands on her. So no one else could hurt her. Bruce felt responsible, felt like maybe he could keep her safe from here on out, despite having already blown his first chance. Did he really deserve another?Even donning the cape, he wasn't all powerful. He was still only human. But it wasn't about that, about his worth or his failures. It was about what was right for the girl. If no one else would take her in, he would do so without any hesitation. Bruce Wayne's mind was made up.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Chirithy (OC), Bruce Wayne & Chirithy (OC), Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Chirithy (OC)
Series: Chirithyverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909585
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Arc 1 - Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! I am finally back with a fic after God knows how long of a hiatus...whoops. Anyway, I first came up with this character and her backstory after experiencing my very first real loss about a year-and-a-half ago. The death of my cat, who was family to me. And so this character came into my mind exactly when I needed her most and her backstory was quick to follow. She continues to save me even now and I couldn't be more grateful to or in love with her.
> 
> Now, hopefully her backstory is believable enough and convincing...I tried to keep it as realistic as possible. The thing is, I've loved Batman ever since I was younger, but my first introductions into the world were: Batman Forever and the 1966 series with Adam West and Burt Ward. Probably not a great start in some people's eyes, as those are the sillier, campy depictions that not everyone likes. But I've finally started reading some of the comics (note: I did not grow up with them like a lot of others did), and I am alo slowly working my way through the movies and animated series, among other things as well as other fanfics to see other people's take on things. Better late than never, right? But despite my odd start, that doesn't mean I love these heroes or their world any less, I can promise you that.
> 
> Though knowing how critical some people/fans can be, I'm trying my best to stay hopeful about what kind of response this fic and my character will receive. That being said, if you need me to better explain something or give my reasons why for doing something in a particular scene, please feel free to ask away so that you can better understand where I'm coming from and how the scene was meant to be viewed. Like I said, I'm trying to keep this all as believable as I can, but I know there are some things that might not be, however I saw them a certain way in my head and knew in my heart, that was just how it had to be done.
> 
> All right, enough of my rambling. Onto the story!

Moonlight glittered on the snow, causing a glare and making the substance somewhat tricky to work in. It was also slick, but thankfully the dynamic duo was used to it by now, after years of doing patrol in bad weather as well as good. 

Batman leapt from one rooftop to another, Robin following close behind. It was still snowing, and getting heavier by the minute.   
  
"At the rate this snow's going, we'll have to cut patrol short."   
  
"We'll keep going for now," Batman said neutrally.  
  
The weather could get worse or it could clear up. Only time would tell.  
  
Both heroes kept their eyes sharp, looking for any sign of trouble, same as every other night. However, when a scream rang out through the air, it was clear that they'd missed the start of something.  
  
"To your left, Batman!"   
  
Without saying a word, Batman followed his partner's directions, another scream echoing in the air just as the both of them landed on the rooftop directly above the alleyway where both screams had originated from. Two adult figures lay slumped on the ground, the snow underneath them stained more than enough red to indicate death. There was one more adult figure barely a foot away from a quivering child, knife held threateningly to her face.   
  
Batman and Robin didn't even need to share a glance before Robin hopped down from his perch, silent and quick on his feet. With a single swipe of his pixie boots – so fast you'd miss it if you blinked – Robin knocked the man flat on his back, and then Batman swept down beside them.  
  
Batman turned the man over so he could cuff him, but not before getting a few volatile punches in.  
  
Robin couldn't blame him; honestly he'd have done the same if he were in the other's position, but the small girl was already terrified enough."Batman, enough!"   
  
The Bat stopped, barely managing to restrain his anger. This monster had hurt a child. Tried to kill her after killing her parents right in front of her. He had seen a lot of things as Gotham's dark knight but the few times he saw crimes quite this bad, crimes involving children, it was almost enough to send him into a mindless rage. It was too much like the night he'd lost his own parents. And the night that Dick lost his, Batman unable to save them, too.   
  
He had beaten the man unconscious and with a grunt, Batman made sure the cuffs were secure before hefting him up against the wall, intent on leaving him for the police to find during their rounds. He wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

Then he slowly turned to face the young child, who couldn't have been any older than six. Her shoulder length hair was silver – and at her age, it had to be natural – so that could only mean it was a mutation of sorts in her genes; and she had smoky gray blue eyes that now had the image of her parents being murdered, forever imprinted behind them.   
  
Kneeling down beside her, Robin kept his movements slow and non-threatening. At first the girl didn't seem to see him, she didn't seem to see anything except an enemy that was no longer in front of her. She did have some blood spilling down her cheek in small, fat rivulets, so it was obvious the man had managed to get a hit in before they'd intervened. Robin cursed silently.   
  
When the snow crunched under Robin's shoes as he shifted, she finally seemed to come out of her fear induced daze, merely blinking up at him and his offered hand.   
  
"Hey, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you. I'm Robin." He motioned to himself. "And that's Batman. Do you know who we are?"   
  
She blinked slowly and said nothing, her gaze turning to the bodies of her dead parents. Batman walked forward, cape swishing as his looming figure covered them from view, but her eyes remained glued to the spot, back to staring at something that wasn't there.  
  
"She's in shock," Batman observed, voice monotone.   
  
"Should we...?"   
  
"Let's take her back to the cave."   
  
Robin hesitated, not sure how the girl was going to react to being picked up, let alone being touched at all. Before he could even get past that thought, Batman strode forward, crouching in front of the girl and gathering her into his arms slowly, as if this was an everyday part of the job. A lot of things were, but not this. Robin had to do a double take but followed Batman back to where they'd parked the Batmobile a ways back. Naturally you had more range of vision from a high vantage point, so often times, they opted to patrol on foot but still have the vehicle on standby if needed.  
  
It took them a little bit longer to get back to it without hopping from rooftop to rooftop, but they managed, not finding any more trouble on the way.   
  
Then without warning, Batman gently handed the girl to his partner since he needed his hands free to drive. Robin got over his surprise fairly quick, but the girl still didn't react.   
  
Tight lipped, Batman sped back to the cave, ever mindful of the snow even with his thoughts relentlessly swirling. He had seen his parents brutally murdered after they'd left the theater together. He had seen Dick's parents fall to their deaths with no safety net to catch them. He might as well have seen this girl's parents getting brutally murdered just like his, even though he hadn't actually witnessed it. Imagining what happened, he could sickeningly do so well enough.   
  
He'd been too late. Again. _He had been too late._  
  
Sparing a glance at the girl now being cradled in Robin's arms, Batman felt his hands tighten around the steering wheel with a soft crack of leather. They had managed to save her, but only to leave her an orphan, so had they really saved her at all? Or had they only handed her a fate worse than death?   
  
"Batman," Robin murmured, almost unsure of what to say next. There was an unnaturally distinct waver in his voice. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "What are we going to do with her?"   
  
"We'll have Alfred look her over, make sure there are no other injuries, and then search for any living relatives."  
  
"And if there aren't any?"   
  
Leather cracked again, this time louder than before. That would be just the icing on the cake, wouldn’t it? "Then we'll go from there. For now, no use getting ahead of ourselves."   
  
"Yeah."   
  
Alfred was there to meet them when they arrived at the cave, almost like he'd known they were going to be coming back right then, and even toting a little girl with them this time around. Robin knew that Batman hadn't gotten the chance to call and tell him what to expect and yet here the butler was, dutiful as ever. One could always wonder about Alfred's mysterious ways, but you would likely never get any answers.  
  
"Master Bruce. Master Dick.”  
  
Under normal, better circumstances, Bruce would have chastised Alfred for referring to them as their everyday counterparts in front of a stranger, but the girl was still staring off in the distance, in no shape to retain anything she was seeing or hearing.   
  
"Her parents were murdered in an alley. We didn't get there in time."   
  
"I see." The butler's kind eyes now swam in sorrow, though he kept his posture impeccably straight, letting duty take over. "Shall we get her cleaned up then? Master Dick, if you please."   
  
Alfred motioned to the examining table and Dick did as asked, carefully setting the girl down before putting a hand on her shoulder and starting to rub the spot with reassuring fingers. "You're okay now. You're safe."   
  
Alfred and Bruce – still in Bat mode – stayed off to the side, letting the young boy wonder work his magic. Over and over again, saying those words and rubbing her shoulder. Until finally, the girl looked up at him slowly.   
  
Dick gave her a small smile, not wanting to overwhelm her, and that's when the tears started. Sliding down her cheeks like glittering diamonds in the night, but she made no sound. They were completely silent tears. No sobs, no shaking of the shoulders, nothing.  
  
After that, a couple of salt shedding blinks later, she went right back to her dazed staring, not surprising after what she'd been through, but still disconcerting to actually witness.   
  
"I'll look her over now. A small reaction is better than none at all."   
  
Batman nodded, his mouth an impassive line. "She shouldn't remember any of this.”

"And if she does?" Alfred asked quietly.   
  
This time Batman shook his head. They would get to that when necessary, if necessary at all. Trauma could be a tricky, little devil, especially where memories were concerned. "See if you can get a name. If not, I'll ask Commissioner Gordon for an ID on the parents."   
  
"Very well then. I will do what I can," the butler nodded.  
  
"Robin."   
  
Dick looked up from the side of his tiny new charge, waiting for any follow up orders Batman had yet to make, though after the fiasco tonight, he really doubted he would be sent back out on patrol.

"Get changed and head upstairs. Now."   
  
Just like he’d thought. With one last look at the girl, Dick nodded, throat tight. "Got it, B."   
  
~*~   
  
After Alfred had given the girl a thorough examination, he brought her upstairs, where Bruce and Dick sat anxiously waiting on one of the two sofas in the main family room. In reality, it had taken only an hour, but it had felt like four times that, to Bruce, too, who had far more patience than Dick, even on a bad day. He was on his feet as the girl was led in, Alfred holding her hand and guiding her forward.   
  
Now that the blood had been wiped clean from her face, both mentor and protégé could clearly see the crescent shaped cut underneath her left eye, a neat row of stitches keeping it closed nicely. Though it would definitely scar.   
  
Alfred had also changed her into a plain medical gown that they kept on hand with the rest of the medical supplies for emergencies. Not only so he could check her over for other injuries but so she could be free from the bloody clothes she'd had on before. Those would have to be burned eventually, as they were beyond repair, only holding memories of the cold darkness intermingling with night and death.  
  
She didn't have any injuries on her arms or legs and the millionaire barely held back a sigh of quiet relief. Slowly, Bruce then knelt down in front of the girl, keeping his gaze steady and trying his best to come across as comforting like Dick had in the cave. Knowing his track record with emotions, it wasn’t likely.  
  
"My name is Bruce. Can you tell me yours?"   
  
No answer. Bruce resisted the urge to sigh. It was a little frustrating, yes, but more so, it was worrying that she had yet to give them an actual response.   
  
"I would think after the night the three of you had, it would be best if we all retired for the night," Alfred spoke, tone gentle, but with no room for debate.  
  
"Yeah, that's a good idea, Alfred," Dick agreed. "Maybe she can sleep in my room tonight? I really don't think we should leave her alone in one of the guest rooms. They can be big and admittedly intimidating on your first night."   
  
"A fine suggestion, Master Dick. And as we do not yet have the means to accommodate a young girl, I would think one of your old t-shirts should suffice as a nightgown for her, for now."  
  
At times like this, Bruce was insanely glad to have Alfred. The man could sense that Bruce was a little out of his depth, and taking everything in stride. It was sad just how out of his depth he was when he had already done this before with Dick. He had done this before and he was still a wreck, albeit a wreck with an insanely good poker face, but still a wreck when you dared look as deep as the root of all this.  
  
"Okay, then. It's settled," Dick said with a decisive nod. Now it was his turn to kneel down at eye level with the girl. "My name is Richard, but you can call me Dick, okay?"   
  
Still no answer.   
  
When Dick made to gently grasp one of her small hands, Bruce shook his head. "You go dig up one of your old shirts, Dick. I'll bring her to your room." Dick shot Bruce an unsure glance. While the CEO did have a soft spot for kids, he was still pretty awkward around them and the young ward could attest to that personally."Go," Bruce ordered softly.   
  
Nodding slowly, Dick finally turned and left, heading out of the room and upstairs.   
  
Alfred had managed to lead the girl in by the hand so it couldn't be that hard, right? In her dazed state, she was very malleable, and that's what pushed Bruce forward, moving to grasp the child's hand. However, before he actually could, her little hand shot up, wrapping itself instead around his much larger one. It seemed to be almost an instinctual thing, something she had done with her own father maybe.   
  
Bruce felt his breath catch in his throat, stuttering and then coming out normal once more. So out of his depth.

Once he had himself back under control, he turned to Alfred. "Call Commissioner Gordon and put him on hold for me. Tell him it's urgent. Please."   
  
"Yes, sir."   
  
Alfred left at a brisk pace, leaving just Bruce and the girl by themselves. Well, there was no use dillydallying. Not when she could use the rest and not when the millionaire had quite a bit of research to do, things to prepare, walls to fortify…They were all in for a long night.  
  
She walked at an even pace beside him, simply letting Bruce lead her wherever, including up the stairs and to the room that was undoubtedly one of the most cheerful in the whole manor. Dick's room. The teenager turned toward them, having heard their footsteps long before they’d met the threshold of his haven, and he crossed the room, holding out a t-shirt. One of his older ones, but an article of clothing that would still swim on the small girl nonetheless. Bruce took the garment without thinking, mind in a thousand different places at once.   
  
"You realize she's not going to be able to change her clothes herself in the state she's in right now, don't you? Just leave that to me. You go talk to Commissioner Gordon and see what you can find out. We should stop pestering her for now. Give her some time to actually rest."   
  
"If she even can," Bruce murmured.   
  
Dick frowned at his blatant, but commonplace – not to mention realistic – pessimism. "Goodnight, Bruce."   
  
A clear dismissal, but Bruce couldn't help but take a moment to just take Dick in – his presence – so grateful to have the warm and empathetic boy by his side, in his life, even if he wasn't always the best at showing it. Dick was going to be his rock through all of this, he just knew. His partner, not just as Robin.

He would strive to help Dick as much as the boy had already helped him. And for the little girl's sake, too. Bruce would do all he was physically capable of and even more to help her. He understood exactly what she was going through, understood her pain. Understood more than he was willing, or ready, to admit. "Goodnight." 

Dick released a deep breath after Bruce left. There was always the risk that something like this could happen on patrol – always – but it hadn't ever happened until now, at least not for Dick. And the teenager was almost positive that the only time Bruce had ever witnessed something this particularly gruesome, and eerily similar to the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne, was the night Dick's own parents had fallen to their deaths thanks to Zucco's interference.   
  
The most they usually saw and then dealt with accordingly were the usual bank robberies, muggings, villains targeting them outright...but this? This was mental pain on par with what the Joker liked to dish out.  
  
He had to hold it together, though. For this innocent child who deserved so much better than the bad hand life had already dealt her so early on. "Alright, kiddo. I'm just going to get you changed for the night. It's an old shirt of mine and it'll be too big on you, but it's the smallest I've got."   
  
She gave no indication that she'd even heard him, eyes still those of little more than an empty shell.   
  
Deciding that it would be best to just get it over with, Dick started to strip her from the gown, eyes doing a quick once over to make sure she had no other injuries. He trusted Alfred, and the man hadn't said anything about any more injuries, but Dick just couldn't help but want to be absolutely sure. No marks, no cuts, not even any bruises. The snow must have cushioned any fall she might have taken when the killer surprised her and her parents from out of the shadows. That satisfied Dick, the fist around his heart unclenching just a little, but only a little. She might have barely suffered physically, but mentally...  
  
Dick thought of how much of a catatonic mess he'd been in the first few days following his parents' murder and barely managed to repress a shudder.   
  
He wanted so badly to tell her that he was sorry – sorry they had been too late, sorry they couldn’t seem to do anything to help her now – but even if she could hear him in whatever faraway place she was in, no one wanted to hear those words after going through something so traumatic. It felt like nothing more than pity, plain and simple. Nobody liked pity, except for pitiful people who wanted to be miserable and actually had a say in their misery.  
  
Limbs as doll like as before, it was hard to get her out of the medical gown and into his old t-shirt, harder than Dick would have liked. Took longer, too. And that frustrated Dick; frustrated at himself, as she'd already been violated tonight. Once, when she'd ruthlessly had her parents ripped away from her and then a second time when Alfred had needed to change her into the gown to do a head to toe examination.  
  
The butler hadn't been given a choice in the matter, as they couldn't just leave her in bloody clothes, but she also couldn't consent to an exam. Regardless, they had needed to make sure that she was okay. They couldn't afford to wait until the fog of her trauma lifted enough for her to give a yes or no answer because who knew when that would be.  
  
When all was said and done, the shirt fell a little past the girl's knees, especially baggy in the shoulder area. "There we go. How does that feel?"   
  
Not surprising, but there was still no answer. Then again, Dick hadn't been expecting one this time. He vaguely remembered from his psychology class that continuously engaging someone closed off from everyone else, as long as you were gentle, would slowly help the person open up. Or at least it could.  
  
The teenager didn't want to get his hopes up, so for now, he would just engage and see if and when she would respond. Talk to her and try to make her feel as safe as possible, honestly, whatever he could manage.  
  
He hefted her up onto his bed, maneuvering her so she was lying down on her side underneath the comforter. Already having changed into clothes that were essentially pajamas when Bruce had ordered him upstairs, Dick slumped to the floor, rubbing his face tiredly. He was exhausted, but he couldn't afford to fall asleep. Someone needed to keep watch over her, and since Bruce was no doubt back down in the cave working on identifying the girl and her parents, and possibly even the murderer, it was Dick's responsibility to make sure she stayed safe.  
  
Alfred would be helping Bruce anyway.   
  
Dick shook his head and gave his cheeks a light slap, trying to wake himself up. He couldn't fall asleep, could _not_ fall asleep. On the off chance the girl came out of her daze and needed someone to explain things to her, or if her body shut down and she managed to fall asleep, she could have a nightmare and there was no way Dick would allow her to suffer through any more than she already had. Not if he could help it.  
  
That was the plan. The plan that would have been foolproof if not for one simple thing. Dick was utterly exhausted. Though he was very used to staying up late and surviving on only a couple hours of sleep a night, he was no longer out on patrol and his brain couldn't seem to focus, especially so because of what he'd witnessed tonight. 

He had seen the Joker’s cruelty time and time again and yet this was the worst of the worst. A blow that could cripple and overcome you if you weren’t careful. 

“No wonder Bruce has the emotional frequency of a teaspoon…”  
  
He trailed off, felt himself drifting off, and then out of nowhere, he was blinking open crusty eyes to the sight of weak sunlight filtering in through his window.   
  
It was morning. Morning. Dick's eyes bulged, and he surged up, only to regret the action immediately as his neck and shoulders protested loudly with a pop that made it sound as if he were older like Bruce and not just a teenager. "Oh, shit!"   
  
He whirled around, the last of his disorientation fading away upon a surprising sight. The silver haired girl, awake and blinking up at him with eyes that were actually somewhat aware now. Seeing him instead of looking right through him. She must have turned the other way in her sleep, now facing him and not the window.  
  
Her eyes were tired and red, like she'd been crying. Had she been that quiet or had Dick just been in that deep of a sleep? His heart clenched.   
  
"Uh, good morning. Do you remember my name?" Eyes falling, she clenched the comforter with small, trembling fingers. Dick gave her a gentle, though tired smile, daring to edge closer. When she didn't flinch – though she did tense up – he counted that as a win. "It's all right. My name is Richard Grayson, but you can call me Dick."   
  
She swallowed, looking back up at him.   
  
"Can you tell me yours?" He made sure to keep his voice soft, in no way able to be perceived as a threat, even to a hurt and confused little girl.  
  
"Chirithy Colette," she whispered, throat raspy from disuse.   
  
"Chirithy..." he murmured. "That sure is a unique name." Her gaze dropped again and Dick crouched by the side of the bed, holding out one of his hands, palm up. "You're probably starving so how about some breakfast?"   
  
Dick didn't actually expect the girl to take his hand, to take up his offer of physical contact, but she did, however hesitant the action was. It had only been one night since her life had irrevocably changed after all, but granted, everyone reacted to trauma differently. The one similarity between every traumatized person? They all needed someone to reach out to, whether it was right away or even years later.   
  
And Dick couldn’t help but immediately notice and latch onto the simple fact that her skin was warm. Warm like an unspoken promise.  
  
~*~   
  
"David and Dana Colette. Both only children; parents to five-year old Chirithy Colette. David's parents are dead and Dana is estranged from her remaining mother."   
  
Bright, almost blindingly so in the dim lighting of the cave, the computer had Bruce's gaze locked in place. The same info, Bruce read it and reread it over and over, as if willing it or anything about it to change.  
  
"Find anything, sir?"   
  
Bruce rubbed a hand down his face, exhausted but too worked up to sleep even if he wanted to. Commissioner Gordon had helped Batman identify the bodies through dental records and honestly, Bruce couldn't be more perturbed, even with names to put to the faces. Even with concrete answers.  
  
Barely any relatives and none of which that would want anything to do with Chirithy? Granted it had been more or less like that with Dick, aside from other members of the circus desperate to keep him with them, but for whatever reason, it was almost harder this time for Bruce to wrap his head around.   
  
The murder had in fact been purely random, no connections – surface, or otherwise deeper – between the killer and Chirithy's parents. There was literally no reason why this had happened, other than madness, a random encounter, bad luck...  
  
"No. Nothing of use anyway. The only remaining family member is estranged."   
  
Alfred nodded thoughtfully. "Does that mean she will be staying here?"   
  
For a moment, Bruce didn't answer, merely frowning at the computer as if it would tell him what to do, though deep down, he already knew the answer, even emotionally stunted as he was.  
  
Just like with Dick, he had to take her in, legally adopt her so that no one else could get their grimy hands on her. So no one else could hurt her. Bruce felt responsible, felt like maybe he could keep her safe from here on out, despite having already blown his first chance. Did he really deserve another?   
  
Even donning the cape, he wasn't all powerful. He was still only human. But it wasn't about that, about his worth or his failures. It was about what was right for the girl. If no one else would take her in, he would do so without any hesitation. Bruce Wayne's mind was made up.  
  
"Master Bruce, perhaps breakfast is in order." Bruce didn't seem to hear Alfred, still lost in the depths of his thoughts. Until an old, familiar hand settled itself firmly on his shoulder. "You need a break, sir."   
  
Frowning, Bruce stood, willing to give in at least for once in his life. "Perhaps. But I cannot afford to rest for too long."   
  
He made his way up from the cave and to the kitchen, Alfred faithfully at his side as always. It wasn't surprising to see Dick and Chirithy already at the table, but what was surprising was the fact that the girl looked up at Bruce as he entered, taking him in with timid eyes, as opposed to not even seeing him like she hadn't the night prior.   
  
"Morning, Bruce," Dick said easily.   
  
"Good morning," the CEO nodded in response.  
  
Alfred wasted no time in serving them breakfast, seemingly out of nowhere, but again, when it was Alfred, you didn't ask. The man was a superhero in his own right.   
  
"Do you remember his name?" Dick asked the girl gently.  
  
Chirithy stiffened, gaze falling to her lap, only calming somewhat when Dick put his hand on her shoulder, rubbing calming circles into the muscle like he had the night before.   
  
Bruce softened at the sight. It would seem that she was imprinting on Dick. After one night. The teenager would be vital in the healing process for her, only serving to reassure Bruce that he had made the right choice down in the cave. Maybe even a choice he had instinctually made before then.  
  
"My name is Bruce Wayne. You can call me Bruce or Mr. Wayne, whichever you prefer."  
  
Honestly, if the man weren't used to it as a superhero, how fast everything was going would be giving him whiplash. And the speed of things didn't even matter, not where the girl was concerned. She was nowhere near recovery and wouldn’t be for some time. Her eyes showed a mirror to the soul inside that seemed dead. Her positive reaction to Dick, at the current point in time, meant nothing. She was still processing. Last night, trauma had pressed fully down on her ribs, keeping her from breathing. Now, the pressure had lessened enough to where she could take a fraction of a breath every so often.  
  
Chirithy looked back up at him, blinking slowly, and Bruce was reminded of the night before when she'd been trapped right in the clutches of a brutal aftermath.   
  
"Can you tell him your name?" Dick kept his voice gentle, coaxing, but also showing her that she had a choice in the matter. It was a request, not an order.  
  
Bruce had yet to hear the girl speak, or even utter a single sound. He could feel the tension thrumming underneath his skin much like the batmobile's engine.   
  
"Chirithy Colette," she murmured, meeting his eyes for only a moment before dropping her gaze back down to her lap.   
  
The millionaire still couldn't get over the strangeness of her name, how different it was. He'd looked it up and found that it meant _gift from God_. Now Bruce had never been a religious person, not as a kid when his parents were still alive and most certainly not now after everything had happened, after all he had seen. The _gift_ part, however...that was as strange to him as the name itself.   
  
Almost like she was meant to end up with them from the very start. If he believed in fate at least.  
  
"It’s nice to meet you. You'll be staying with us for awhile. Is that all right?" Bruce tried to keep his voice gentle like Dick's, unsure whether or not he was succeeding. Kids were one of his weak points, turning him into a bit of an awkward man, one who no one would ever believe was the real Bruce Wayne unless they saw the embarrassing spectacle for themselves.   
  
Looking more uncomfortable than ever, obviously floundering and as out of her depth as Bruce was, Chirithy looked every bit the picture of misery. The millionaire hated to have to do it, but it was a question that needed asked. Her staying here would be tantamount to imprisoning her if she didn't offer her consent.   
  
"Chirithy?" Dick prompted. "What do you say, you want to stay here with us for a little while?"   
  
Dick was trying so hard to act natural, to be himself, but the older man could clearly see the cracks in his facade, that he was walking on eggshells around her and her incredibly fragile psyche, just the same as Bruce.   
  
"Okay." Chirithy didn't even lift her head this time, obviously retreating back into her shell, the ripped snakeskin that trauma was trying to keep her from shedding, offering her a place that was in no means safe, but somewhere she could hide all the same. Quite literally a hell of a haven.  
  
"We won't force you to do anything you don't want to do and if you have any concerns, please come to us."   
  
Words didn't come, Chirithy now completely back to how she was last night. It seemed they had taken more than she'd been ready to give.   
  
Bruce felt his hands clench into fists atop his lap. Only time would tell.  
  
~*~   
  
Bruce believed in coincidences as much as he did fate, possibly less so. Maybe it was morbid irony that had sent Chirithy his way? Regardless, there was nothing that wondering about it would do to help her now.   
  
Over the past few weeks, the silver haired girl had settled in about as well as could possibly be expected from anyone in her precarious situation, but especially one as vulnerable as a child, and so young, too. While kids were resilient, their minds weren't fully developed, their psyches infinitely more fragile and therefore more susceptible to harm.   
  
She rarely spoke unless spoken to and was very skittish, though understandably so. Dick was the only one so far who could get her to even remotely open up.   
  
Even Bruce, emotionally inept as he was, knew that scars such as these ran deeper than blood and forced their slimy way past bone marrow. He knew that she needed more than a new home; a home which he hadn't hesitated to give her. She needed more than a roof over her head, clothes to keep her warm, food to keep her full. She needed someone to help her heart; to help her heal.  
  
Bruce wasn't sure he could be that person for her. He had created Batman and donned the cape to begin his own healing process, selling a good piece of his soul in the process. He didn't want that for her, and she was far too young regardless.

Then he had found Dick and the boy had somehow stitched back together more of the scattered pieces, but Bruce was still too damaged.  
  
Dick had begun the first steps toward his own healing by worming his way under Bruce's skin. At first, he'd been the exact same as Chirithy was now. Quiet. Exhausted. Traumatized. Everything Bruce had expected. But then Dick’s brain had finally started processing that trauma and the young boy had come out of his shell, becoming a ray of sunshine somehow capable of making Bruce do something the cold hearted man never thought he would do again. Smile.  
  
Bruce hadn't really done anything to get Dick to open up. The boy had done that all on his own, only becoming more vibrant once he'd taken up the mantle of Robin. So the CEO had no clue how to get Chirithy to start opening up, as he had absolutely nothing to go on. No experience at his belt.  
  
He knew it was wrong to do so, but his walls were being kept up as a defense mechanism while he figured out what to do. A failsafe reaction that he could always rely on, if nothing else. Something that had Dick and Alfred shooting him knowing looks as a result. He was taking too long to find the answer, he knew that. But he simply didn't know what to do.   
  
With Dick, the answer had been shoved right in his face by the grinning boy himself, but with this, the infamous genius and world’s greatest detective, was at a complete loss. This whole situation really did ooze irony.   
  
He was a man of action, but maybe, all he could do at this point, was sit back and wait for things to play out until the script prompted for his cue. Wait for an answer. It pained him to not do anything, more than he'd care to admit, even more so than it would normally because he really was growing to care for this girl, who had unknowingly started worming her way beneath Bruce's skin just like Dick had.  
  
And that was a conundrum all its own. Dick radiated his own energy, was his own light. Chirithy seemed to be the type that needed a light to guide her, giving off her own brightness but too lost in the darkness inside, making her blind.   
  
How could Bruce, Bat in the shadow of night, possibly give off enough light to guide her into reaching in and accepting her own? What she needed was warmth. Love. Affection. Bruce didn't think he could give her any of those things, all these things that she so very much deserved; at least not the way she needed them.   
  
He was at a standstill, but little did he know that it wouldn't be that way for much longer. That very night after patrol and well after his own internal dilemma of endless wondering, Bruce finally got the wake up call that he needed to do something. Anything at this point.   
  
If he gave and Chirithy needed more, then he would simply try to give more. If he ruffled Chirithy's sleek, silver hair and what she really needed was a hug, he would give her a hug, damn any awkwardness he would feel as a result. If he had to teach himself to be more affectionate, that was just what he would have to do. Unravel his steel heart and chip away at the broken pieces like he was a battered robot in need of repair.  
  
When Dick had come to live at the manor, Bruce had quickly figured out – as usual, the hard way – that it was no longer just about him. It was about him _and_ Dick. How they could coexist, how they could get along, though their personalities were like night and day. It was the same thing all over again with Chirithy, only the path to get there was different since she was a completely different person than Dick. Similar in some respects, yes, like their much endearing eagerness to please, but still ultimately different.  
  
No matter how uncomfortable it made him, he would just have to do his best. As Bruce, not as Batman. No mask and cape to hide behind, not this time.  
  
Mulling over it all in that scarily intense way of his, Bruce got his shower after stripping out of the suit, deciding to do a little bit of office work from home before bed. He took an unnecessary detour so he could pass by Dick's room on the way. The boy slept with his door open and it gave Bruce peace of mind to just check on him from time to time.   
  
What he saw this time, however, stopped him dead in his tracks. Dick's bedside light was on and the boy was facing the door with a lump of quivering blankets, none other than Chirithy, facing him.   
  
The small girl was sobbing, pressing as close to Dick as she possibly could. He was petting her hair, murmuring soft words to her, but it seemed to be doing nothing as the girl's cries only grew louder and the force behind them stronger.  
  
Bruce stood in place, utterly frozen as if in a trance. Dick, who had already sensed his presence long ago, raised his gaze, serious eyes meeting his. Dick didn't need any more scathing courage than what he already wore, for his look to clearly come across as _'now are you going to do something?'  
_  
Finally, Bruce got his feet to move and he strode away from the heartbreaking scene with quick, choppy strides. The Bat might have been able to stay graceful and keep face in a situation such as this, but as Bruce, he often tried to be softer. More open.  
  
Apparently not open enough.   
  
No, there was no _apparently_ here. Bruce knew he hadn't been as soft with her as he should have been, at least to the degree he knew he was capable of being. By closing a part of himself off, he'd shut her out, too afraid of how strongly his affection for her was growing.   
  
First thing in the morning, he had to tear down his walls and let this poor girl in, otherwise, he'd be giving her less than she deserved and Bruce would not stand for that. Not anymore.

He should have learned his lesson with Dick and now a little girl was paying for his incompetence.  
  
His mind was whirling with possibilities; all the things he could do. All the things he should avoid doing. What he had been doing so far was what he needed to avoid repeating.  
  
Chirithy would find her home here with them, hopefully in time. Time that wouldn’t get rid of her pain entirely – just as Bruce would never in a million years be free of his own chains binding him – but would lessen as scar tissue grew to cover as much of the wound as it could.

~*~  
  
The next morning, breakfast was a quiet, somewhat strained affair. Dick kept shooting him not so covert glances, purposely nodding toward Chirithy each time. Bruce kept shaking his head; now was not the time. He wanted to talk to the girl when it was just the two of them. It might overwhelm her more, not having Dick there as her crutch, but they needed to do this alone. Let the impression of their connection finish setting into the skin much like the ink of a tattoo.  
  
Finished eating, the CEO wiped his mouth and stood, placing a gentle hand on Chirithy’s shoulder. She shrunk back, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights, something Bruce didn't push when Alfred saved the obviously distressed girl by asking if she was done with her meal and then saying it was time for her lessons.   
  
Speaking of trying not to overwhelm her, that was one thing Bruce had actually managed to get right; keeping her in the manor for private lessons as opposed to Gotham's congested public school system, which would have no doubt only put more of a strain on her damaged mind.  
  
"Master Bruce, don't you have work to do?" Alfred asked, sending him a knowing look as he led the girl away.   
  
She scurried out of the room, sneaking scared glances back at Bruce the whole time.   
  
Dick waited until they were both well out of the kitchen before sighing, "You need to say something to her, Bruce. Not just give her shoulder a pat and expect her to know what it means. Your language takes time to learn, trust me."   
  
Bruce's eyes narrowed, a familiar tension underneath his skin so close to the surface like a paper cut. “Don't you have your own lessons to get to?"   
  
Dick swallowed one last bite before standing up and grabbing his bag. The teenager on the other hand, did go to public school. It was something he enjoyed, showing yet again how vastly different he and Chirithy were. Not that Bruce needed reminding.

"Yeah, yeah. Just reach out to her and don't scare her this time, okay?" Dick paused, biting his lip. "She needs you, I think even more than she needs me. Or more than I ever needed you."   
  
Once Dick left, the only sound was the ticking of the antique grandfather clock, far too loud and damning Bruce for the failures held pathetically close to his chest. He would work from home that day, so he could keep an eye on Chirithy and jump for his second chance once the girl's lessons were done for the day.

No longer hungry and unable to finish his breakfast, he went to do just that. Closing himself in his office and mentally making a list of how much paperwork he could get done within the hour and then the next hour.

Sorting through paperwork was as boring as it usually was, tedious and it didn't make the time pass by as fast as Bruce would have liked it to. Normally Bruce dealt with mundane things well, but today he was worked up, for obvious reasons. The clock would eventually turn to the time he wanted it to be, and eventually it did. You didn’t succeed at being a hero with lack of patience as a virtue.   
  
Thankfully, private lessons always took about half the time out of one’s day as public school did, and that was Bruce’s cue to begin his path to the family room where Chirithy's lessons were held. He paused for a beat before quickening his pace when he heard a crash and the sound of something breaking.   
  
What he found gave him pause but only a moment's. Chirithy was standing amidst the shattered pieces of an old vase, eyes wide, only growing wider still when she heard Bruce enter and looked up at him.   
  
Tears immediately started, her cherub face crumpling, and full body sobs – just like the night before – wracking her small frame. She knelt down, starting to gather the shards with her bare hands. "I'm sorry, it was an accident, I swear! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm -"   
  
"Chirithy, don't touch those. It's alright." 

Her voice was soft like a mouse and her gray waterfall eyes gazed up at Bruce miserably. He knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his to stop her from picking up any more pieces.   
  
"I'm sorry. I should have been more careful..."   
  
She was actually rather clumsy, almost endearingly so; much like Dick’s inability to be quiet for more than a few minutes at a time, always needing to fill the void with endless chatter. It was honestly a wonder that this was her first time having an accident in the manor.   
  
Bruce shook his head. "A vase is replaceable. You fingers are not." 

Wow, that sounded strange. Maybe he should have said her hand instead of her fingers. Barely the equivalent of a normal person’s first sentence in and he was already making things strained and awkward.  
  
Her eyes widened, but this time in quiet surprise rather than fear. She didn’t seem to mind how out of his comfort zone he so obviously was. In fact, she seemed to find it as endearing as he found her little quirks.  
  
"But -"  
  
"No buts," he said firmly, but gently. "It was just an accident. Your cut is what I'm more worried about.” She just looked up at him with her big eyes, obviously in awe. "Come on, let's get you fixed up, all right?"   
  
Rising to his feet with ease, Bruce helped her up, giving her a quick onceover to make sure she hadn't gotten cut anywhere else.   
  
It was so similar to that first, snowy night that irony was no longer a strong enough word to describe it all. Her bleeding from a single cut, him making sure there weren't any others. Her in a bit of a daze as he slowly led her to his room so he could grab the first aid kit. Feeling so out of his depth, but unable to hold back the protective, though surprisingly paternal feelings rising up inside him. It was all the same.  
  
He could have just taken her to the bathroom and gotten the first aid kit there, but he wanted her to know that he was serious about all of this. He didn't let just anyone into his room; even the numerous women from all of his hookups as Brucie hadn't been in his actual room. He had another bedroom specifically for those escapades.   
  
"This is my room. Just go ahead and sit on the bed while I get the first aid kit."   
  
He felt his lips twitch when he saw her eyes widen in awe at learning she was in this man's room. An obviously very private person was allowing her into his very private space. His plan hadn't been to overwhelm the girl – overwhelming himself was a given –but naturally, that was what was happening anyway.  
  
The adjoining bathroom's first aid kit was fully stocked, even though it got used fairly often, and Bruce brought it back out with him, his steps slow and measured. Seeing the first aid kit in his hands, Chirithy stiffened and hastily clambered up onto his bed with her cheeks flushed. She hadn't listened to what he'd asked her to do and obviously felt guilty as a result.  
  
"Hey, now, none of that," Bruce chided, trying to remember to be gentle. "That wasn't an order, but merely a request, okay?"   
  
She nodded miserably, deadly quiet as he took her hand to better inspect the cut. It was a fairly long scratch that started at mid pointer finger and stopped about halfway down her palm. Bandages and disinfectant would be enough as the cut wasn't horribly deep.   
  
"This is going to sting a bit," he warned, holding up a cotton ball damp with peroxide.  
  
A flinch met his gentle ministrations, but she didn't cry out or try to yank her hand away, even though the sting was obviously painful. Bruce felt a small swell of pride well up inside his chest as she held her hand steady, only knowing what the nearly unfathomable feeling was at all thanks to Dick.  
  
It reminded him of when Dick had first become Robin and how Bruce would take him up here to his room after training to patch up all the boy's numerous cuts and gashes instead of treating them down in the cave. It was more intimate. Had helped solidify and strengthen their bond.   
  
He smiled faintly. These two really were birds of a feather. Birds this bat had taken under his wing with more than a second thought, but couldn’t bring himself to regret.  
  
She studied him as he started to wrap her hand in a strand of gauze, hurriedly looking away when his eyes rose to meet hers, though he had felt her gaze the minute it had landed on him. It was a burning feeling; powerful, regardless of how young she was.   
  
Now that he held her in his gaze, he found that he couldn't look away. "Chirithy," he said, willing her to turn her eyes back to him. Slowly, she did. "I want you to know that you are not a burden. You are here because I want you to be. That being said, you can come to me for anything that's troubling you. Anything at all, even something you might not see as all that important such as...nightmares, perhaps?"   
  
Her shoulders went rigid, eyes dropping in shame. Bruce put a stop to that train of thought straight away by patting her now fully bandaged hand.   
  
"Everyone gets them, little one."   
  
Chirithy frowned, eyes wide. She clearly understood what Bruce was trying to imply. "E-Even you?"  
  
Bruce nodded, forcing himself to continue tearing down the walls, writing and all, no matter how painful it was and how strangely it left him reeling. "Even me. I lost my parents when I was young, just like you.”

"Does it...ever get better?"   
  
He took a little bit to think about it, even though his answer was already concrete. "In some ways. You just have to leave a little room for scar tissue to grow.”  
  
Chirithy's eyes were so heartbreakingly earnest as she met his gaze head on and this time held it. There was a connection forming between them, still so new and fragile, but already growing in strength, intense enough that it was like a tangible thread between them. Though who was Bruce kidding? Their connection had formed instantaneously on that first night.  
  
"I'm sorry about the vase," she murmured again.   
  
"Please, don't worry about it. It was an accident." Though even if it had been on purpose, Bruce knew he wouldn't be able to stay mad at the silver haired girl. “I’ll tell you something…I never liked that old vase anyway.”

He was silently asking her to do something even he didn't really do. Putting her trust in other people, opening up to them and letting them help her. Just like he and Dick had walked the path of learning how to coexist as Bruce and Dick – as Batman and Robin – this was a path that he and this little girl could walk together. Maybe it was finally about time Bruce stretch his own tattered wings.   
  
Finally, her lips twitched up ever so slightly, quivering, but still a smile. The tiniest smile Bruce had ever seen, much like one he would give. She was similar to Dick, but in ways like this, she bore far more resemblance to Bruce.   
  
He found that he would do anything to protect that smile. Preserve it for as long as he possibly could and doing his damndest to make sure the shadows didn't swallow either of them, but especially her, whole.  
  
~*~   
  
Contrary to popular belief, galas were not Bruce's idea of a good time. Brucie enjoyed them, ostentatiously so, but the playboy persona was simply an act, as it always had been. As it would forever remain.  
  
But regardless of his true feelings on the matter, they were events that needed to happen. To keep the city and therefore its sick, twisted villains, tight in his grasp. And to keep up a good image for Wayne Enterprises.   
  
Far more went into these disgustingly lavish parties than people would think. Which was why Bruce originally hadn't wanted to bring Chirithy to one of them, at least not yet, not until she was more comfortable around people.   
  
Dick had immediately balked at the idea, saying she was too young and still too scared. She would be a lamb sent to slaughter in a lion's den.   
  
Bruce saw his point, he did, but as his newly adopted child, Chirithy would need introduced sooner or later. There was only so long that even someone like Bruce Wayne could keep this hidden. Dick had needed to be introduced as Bruce’s ward at a certain point, too, so good as the boy wonder’s intentions might be, he really didn’t have the proper knowledge needed to comment on the situation.  
  
About two months ago now, he had asked Chirithy to come to him about anything she needed; in less words, cryptically spoken, but spoken nevertheless. Obviously, he meant those words with every fiber of his being, otherwise he wouldn't have said them at all. She'd been skittish at first, but ever so slowly, she was coming around to the idea. Just the night before, she'd nervously asked him for help with some of her homework.   
  
That was the main reason Bruce now thought bringing her to this gala had any chance of going off without a hitch. Their connection was growing stronger, slow, but steady.   
  
Of course, Dick would be at the gala as well, and Chirithy had already grown to positively adore the boy, feeling more comfortable around him than either himself or Alfred, so that would help in the long run.   
  
The trio was dressed impeccably, to the nines, and naturally Chirithy was the one most uncomfortable. At this point, Bruce's suits merely felt like a second skin to him and while Dick still didn't like his, he had begrudgingly gotten used to them. But Chirithy wasn't bothered by the fact that she had been asked to wear a dress. No, what bothered her was the fact that this was a ball gown, a thick, puffy skirt going past her feet, ribbons and lace wrapped everywhere. She looked like a princess straight out of a Disney film. A very disgruntled one at that.   
  
Bruce kept his composure, but the sight had him wanting to soften right up and smile. Most girls her age loved to play dress up and act like princesses. That just wasn't her cup of tea. No, Chirithy seemed to have a slight preference toward anything superhero related, ironically enough.   
  
Following Bruce down the hall, the silver haired girl frowned up at him. "Must I go?" she asked softly.   
  
Bruce nodded, reaching for her hand. She took it with only a minuscule amount of hesitation. "I'm afraid you do. The public will find out about your presence in my life soon enough. It's better if we reveal you now on our own terms."   
  
Almost clinging to Bruce with Dick on her other side seemed to put her at ease, or at least made her as comfortable as she could be in a situation like this. As they got closer to the ballroom, and therefore closer to the multiple throngs of people solely awaiting the millionaire's presence, her shoulders hunched in a familiar manner.  
  
"Stand up straight with your shoulders back, Chiri," Dick whispered, giving her a gentle nudge. "Just like we taught you." Then a wink.   
  
Both Bruce and Dick saw Chirithy's lips twitch up at the teenager's antics, but she didn't release a soft giggle like she would have normally, ever since Dick had gotten her to laugh for the first time.  
  
"Take a deep breath." Chirithy did as she was told. "And exhale." She did, closing her eyes briefly before squeezing Bruce's hand and looking up at him with a nod.   
  
"All right," Bruce murmured.  
  
"Time to shine, little bird." Dick nudged her again, with a comforting smile.   
  
No more time to dawdle or even comfort, Bruce stepped forward, strong and sure. All eyes were on him and then Chirithy – half a step behind him – in only a heartbeat's time. Then the whispers started. 

"There he is, oh gosh, look at him!" 

"Is that a little girl with him?" 

"Oh my goodness, I read an article in the paper saying he took in another child."   
  
"Look at her hair. I've never seen anyone with pure silver hair before, let alone a child."   
  
"They have similar eyes, though. It's almost like they really could be related."   
  
"I wonder why he adopted her. Did she become an orphan just like Dick Grayson?"   
  
"It was a pity adoption, no doubt."   
  
On the outside, _Brucie_ was all charming smiles and polite nods; on the inside, Bruce was pure tension and corded muscles, close to seething.   
  
Guilty for the death of her parents, Bruce had indeed felt bad. How could he not? But it wasn't pity that he'd shown her. It was empathy. He had adopted her because he wanted to, because he didn't want her to be alone, especially with someone who couldn't understand what people like them had gone through; victims of circumstance.

Chirithy clutched Bruce's hand tighter, trying her best to ignore the hushed voices and the judging stares doing their best to chew her up and spit her back out before the gala even properly began.   
  
One of the women, a reporter that often interviewed Bruce pre gala, boldly stepped forward, causing Chirithy to pull back from the small step forward she’d taken and hide behind Bruce again.   
  
Some of the women had the audacity to scoff at the action, like Chirithy wasn't just a five-year old girl, terrified by the hundreds of faceless strangers suddenly surrounding her. How pathetic.   
  
"Mr. Wayne, a few minutes of your time, if I may?"   
  
"Of course."   
  
"My records indicate that you have recently adopted a young girl. Would this be her?"   
  
"It would."   
  
"And what might her name be?"   
  
"Chirithy Colette."   
  
More murmurs, definitely about how strange her name was. It was a strange name, but not in a bad way. Merely different. Unique, just like the girl who owned it.  
  
"Why did you choose to adopt her?" Ah, there it was. The most loaded question of the night. Bruce squared his shoulders and looked past the reporter, giving his answer to every single person in the room.   
  
"I found a broken girl who lost her parents and had nowhere else to go, yes. Simply put, she reminded me of myself. I wasn't going to let her grow up alone."   
  
Unintelligible murmurs echoed throughout the spacious elephant of a room, as loud as a window shattering, raining down pieces of glass.  
  
Stunned for a moment, the reporter quickly regained her bearings and knelt down to Chirithy's level with a smile.  
  
"Do you mind if I ask her some questions as well, Mr. Wayne?"   
  
Bruce stepped between her and Chirithy, protecting the girl from the particularly rude and unwanted advance. "Actually I do. I do not wish to overwhelm her. Surely you understand."  
  
He sent the woman one of his most dazzling, heart stopping smiles, and positively star struck, she could do nothing but nod. "O-Oh, yes, of course. Please forgive me."   
  
"It's quite alright." No, it wasn't, actually. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way."   
  
"Y-Yes, I understand."   
  
Still flustered. Good. She deserved that and more for invading a child's space and making her feel even more uncomfortable. Dick had owned the natural curiosity needed to get through a pack of these vultures of vanity on his own, if needed. Chirithy was still much too skittish and easily frightened by people she didn’t know.  
  
"Good riddance," Dick snorted quietly, blue eyes burning with an icy fury.   
  
Bruce wished he could say that was the worst thing that was going to happen, but it was only just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. To be as successful as a good many of the people here, you had to have the mentality of a predator. It was eat or be eaten, and these people were the equivalent of sharks in the water thirsting for blood.   
  
Women flocked to him, some uncaring of the child by his side, while others actually pretended that they gave a damn about her.   
  
"Bruce, would you care to dance tonight?"  
  
Bruce smiled, but shook his head. "I'm truly sorry to decline your offer, but this little one is going to be my partner for the night."   
  
"She is simply darling, Bruce! I'm smitten."   
  
Another plastic smile. "You have my thanks."   
  
Chirithy continued to shield half of herself with Bruce's large body, barely managing to hide every flinch each time someone else pranced over with sweet words faker than Bruce's smile.   
  
"Mr. Wayne, what a pleasure it is to again make your acquaintance."   
  
Bruce turned, forcing Chirithy out of hiding, but he didn't let go of her small hand, even when the women eyed them with thinly veiled contempt.  
  
"Ah, Delilah. It's nice to see you again."   
  
"Might I trouble you for a dance?" she asked sweetly.   
  
Just as with the woman before her, Bruce shook his head. "My apologies, but Chirithy here is my dance partner for the evening. Isn't that right, dear?"   
  
Chirithy gave the tiniest of nods, eyeing the woman warily. Bruce hadn't yet taught her how to ballroom dance, as this gala was only to introduce her as his daughter to the public, but little white lies never hurt, at least not if you could back them up.   
  
Eyes tight, the woman nodded, "Perhaps another time then," before striding off toward her next handsome, financially compensating victim.   
  
"I'm so glad she didn't give you the chance to offer me up as a dance partner," Dick said conversationally.   
  
Bruce snorted quietly. That was exactly what he had planned on doing if the woman had overstayed her welcome any more.   
  
"Is...is everyone here like that?" Chirithy's small voice finally spoke.   
  
"Like what?" the CEO asked, amusement curling his lips upward with the slightest twitch.  
  
Her nose wrinkled. "Like _that?_ "   
  
Dick took his turn to snort at that, his nowhere near as quiet as Bruce's had been. The man shot him a look complete with raised brows. "Dick, how about you go entertain that group of women ogling me over there?"   
  
Dick was smart enough not to bother asking why Bruce just didn't leave Chirithy with him and go do it himself. The answer was simple; the second Bruce left Chirithy's side, these vultures would swoop down and tear her apart. This was about a bat staking his claim.  
  
That didn't stop Dick from glaring at him, though. "Fine. But you owe me big, _Brucie_."   
  
Dick sauntered off, leaving the pair alone for the first time that night.  
  
Bruce gazed down at Chirithy. "There's a certain way people expect you to act at events like these. Some of them are too vain to pull it off. You'll notice that there's a persona even I am forced to maintain."   
  
The dazed look was entering her eyes again, something that Bruce had noticed still happened when under acute stress. It showed that she was close to shutting down and running purely on autopilot. 

He felt bad for her, he truly did, but this was something that needed done, otherwise Bruce wouldn't have bothered with it. Gotham needed to be made aware this girl was now under his protection. "I can send everyone home soon if you would like," Bruce murmured, rubbing Chirithy's shoulder like he'd seen Dick do numerous times.   
  
When she didn't answer, he just kept her close. He would give the gala about another hour to wrap up and then send her on up to bed to get some rest.   
  
At least, that was what he'd been hoping to do, but when a gunshot rang out, immediately causing a ruckus, those plans fell through the cracks.   
  
No one had fallen from the shot, and in a group this large, that wasn't an accident. The shot was meant as a warning. Many people knew that if they wanted Batman's attention, getting Bruce's was a good way to start. He had his secret identity, sure, but Bruce had a good amount of control over Gotham just as Batman did, and some villains had their suspicions about who he really was beneath the mask, barring all of that.   
  
People were still panicking, a good portion having run out of the manor already, making it easier for Bruce to find the clue the shot had been pointing to. A riddle smack dab in the middle of the room.   
  
Bruce looked back at Dick, who had Chirithy by the shoulders. Chirithy's eyes were wide and terrified, causing the millionaire’s heart to clench. Dick, on the other hand, met his gaze and nodded.   
  
"Everyone, please remain calm and exit the manor in an orderly fashion. Security will see you out." The Bat inside Bruce was taking over, struggling to stay contained until he could pull the cowl on. As both he and his counterpart had a natural commanding aura, it only took about five minutes for everyone to finish clearing out, a whirlwind left in their wake.   
  
Bruce picked up the riddle, catching Dick's gaze again. This seemed especially bold of the Riddler, unless he was double teaming with someone. "We'd best get Batman and Robin on the case."   
  
Dick nodded solemnly, regretfully passing Chirithy into Alfred's care when the butler appeared right on cue. Struggling ensued right after as the silver haired girl tried to pitch herself forward desperately.   
  
To make it easier on Alfred, Bruce knelt down, putting his hands on her shoulders and therefore ceasing her attempt to get free. Strange. Chirithy had been about to shut down before, and now she was downright frantic, eyes wide and terrified. The situation was serious, but she shouldn't be this scared, this desperate.  
  
"Chirithy, I want you to stay with Alfred. Dick and I need to go take care of this."   
  
"No!"   
  
Both Bruce and Dick appeared startled at her outburst. This was the first time she had ever disobeyed, normally so submissive and scrambling to follow requests like they were orders. They were still working on that bad habit.   
  
"No!" Chirithy whimpered again, finally settling down in Alfred's hold, but definitely not happy about it.   
  
Alfred had a knowing look in his eyes, seeming to understand why she was suddenly acting out.  
  
"Chirithy -"   
  
"Don't go! I already lost my first family; don't make me lose you, too!"   
  
Bruce's eyes were the ones to widen this time, as he felt his breath catch painfully in his chest. She'd specifically used the word _first_ and even in her distressed state, it hadn't been a mistake. Heavily implying that she already considered him and Dick family. Something so significant and mind blowing, especially when you stopped to consider how catatonic she'd been that first night with them several months ago. How slow she'd been to start opening up.   
  
Bruce moved his hand from her shoulder to her cheek, caressing her crescent scar with his thumb. He couldn't promise her that she wouldn't ever lose them – as they were involved in such a dangerous profession – but what he could do was reassure her.  
  
"Everything will be fine. Don’t worry, kiddo."   
  
Kneeling down beside Bruce, Dick shot her a confident grin. "Yeah, Chiribird. We'll be back in no time!"   
  
Chirithy didn't look convinced.  
  
"Mistress Chirithy, how about we get you ready for bed now? That way when the masters come back, you'll have more time with them."   
  
"Alright..."   
  
She didn't put up another fight when Alfred started leading her out of the room toward the stairs, but she did keep glancing back at the two of them until she turned the corner and couldn't anymore.   
  
"Well...no time to take in that landmine," Dick sighed.   
  
"No," the older agreed. "We have to get down to the cave and call Commissioner Gordon straight away."   
  
"I'll call for extra security on the mansion. That bullet has me even more worried than the riddle."   
  
"We'll have to pull camera footage, too; see what we can find. Let's go."  
  
"Right."  
  
~*~   
  
If Bruce weren't Batman and he didn't have to be absolutely sure that the city was safe, he would say that this mission had been a complete and total waste of his time.   
  
The Riddler had paired up with a newbie villain – one who didn't have much going for them even for a villain – and he'd just been having his usual, disturbingly sporadic fun. Targeting the manor had only been a means to get attention, just as Bruce had suspected.   
  
"That was a waste of time," Robin muttered.  
  
"Making sure the city is safe is never a waste of time," Batman reminded him gruffly.   
  
Robin had the decency to look abashed at that, ducking his head. "You're right...How do you think Chirithy's doing?"   
  
Batman didn't answer, not while he still had the cowl on and she had to be forced to the back of his mind in response for his duties taking precedence. She had been in the back of his mind since before they'd suited up and was the reason they had worked so quickly, but still efficiently on the mission. She was the reason they weren't taking their time in currently unsuiting since they wanted to check in on her and make sure she was still okay.   
  
Putting the cape away in its case, Bruce strode to the computer so he could get up the logs for the night. He would just leave them sit for now, intent on coming back to them just as soon as he was done, but first he wanted to make sure Chirithy was doing all right. The logs could wait until he knew she was safe in her bed.   
  
Dick dashed up the stairs before him, Bruce staying deceptively calm and moving at a more sedate pace. In the family room and not her own room another flight up, they were met by Alfred and directly behind him fidgeting on the couch, Chirithy.   
  
At the sound of them entering the room, Chirithy perked up, her eyes going wide. Immediately she hopped off the couch, running to them and stopping just short of throwing her arms around Bruce. It was so obvious she wanted to, the look in her eyes almost painful. It was extraordinary, really. Her eyes were like a mirror to her soul, eerily similar to that first night, but there was still so much of herself she tried to hide.  
  
"She refused to go to bed until she knew that you both were safe," Alfred explained, a soft twinkle in his eyes.  
  
Agitated, Chirithy twisted her arms behind her back, but Bruce knew that she still wanted to hug him. He wasn't a very emotional person, not physically, not at all, so the thought of hugging anyone should have made him uncomfortable. Strangely, this time it didn't. She was a little girl, but that wasn't the reason. It wasn't anything involving guilt.   
  
_"Don't go! I already lost my first family; don't make me lose you, too!"_  
  
She thought of them as family; Bruce didn’t need to be perceptive to see that or the deeper meaning it held. They didn't call Batman the world's greatest detective for nothing. It wasn't just that she considered them family. No, it more specific than that. Dick was like an older brother to her, one of her father figures, and Bruce was the other father figure.   
  
And if Bruce were being honest with himself, he –  
  
He already thought of her as his. She made his protective instincts surge stronger than ever, she brought out a part of him that he thought had been gone since his own parents had died that even Dick hadn’t seemed able to reach. He liked seeing her smile, seeing Dick make her giggle softly with his antics.   
  
He was in over his head, basically.   
  
The longer Bruce just stood there, the more antsy she grew, so it only took a couple more seconds for him to come to a decision, kneeling down and putting his own discomfort aside so he could pull her small frame into his arms. Freezing against him at first, she simply stood there until her shoulders started to shake and then her arms were around his neck, clinging to him desperately.  
  
Bruce felt no wetness around his neck, signaling she wasn't crying, but she sure as hell wanted to. Sure enough, when she pulled away, her eyes were swollen and red. "Are you all right?" Bruce asked gently.   
  
She nodded, rubbing at her crescent mark vigorously. There was no longer a miserable look in her eyes, but she did look rather tuckered out.   
  
Pulling her up to him in a tender hug as well, Dick said, "We should get you to bed, Chiri. You look exhausted."   
  
"Mmm," she nodded against his shoulder, where she was tucked against him. "Are you going to go to bed, too?"   
  
Eyes like an ocean storm cloud gazed up at Dick and then Bruce perceptively, like she knew they were just as exhausted as she was, if not more and so there was literally no excuse for them not to follow her lead.   
  
Dick sent her a very convincing smile, though the CEO wasn't sure she would be fooled. She wasn't, narrowing her eyes in displeasure, a frown trying to look so tough on her cute face that it was more of a pout than anything else.  
  
The boy wonder laughed, caressing her hair with a soft, protective hand. "Chiribird, you have a bedtime for a reason."  
  
"Don't you have school tomorrow?" she asked pointedly.   
  
Even Bruce had to chuckle at the flabbergasted look on the boy's face, having been one upped by none other than a five-year old.   
  
Bruce couldn't be more pleased. She was opening up more and more to them each day, now that she was starting to slowly heal. It would be a day to day process, more hurdles to overcome, maybe even for the rest of her life. Even now, some days were better than others; an ongoing trial.  
  
But today...  
  
Bruce cleared his throat, not wanting to waste any more time and getting to the heart of the matter."Chirithy."  
  
Somber once more at his tone, she turned, stepping back toward him. He held out a hand, palm up and she reached out and took it, her small hand warm in his.   
  
What she had said earlier came back to Bruce yet again. "You mentioned something earlier, and though it was likely heat of the moment, I wanted to follow up on it."   
  
Instead of looking confused, Chirithy looked him head on – something she would not have done in the beginning – seeming to know what he was referring to simply by the look in her eyes. Meaning that she had been completely aware of the words she had said when she said them.  
  
"You don't have to call me Bruce or Mr. Wayne if you don't want to."   
  
Even Dick had sobered at the slight turn the conversation had taken. He stayed back, removed from the situation and against the wall with his arms crossed, giving the pair their space.   
  
Here it was. The moment of truth. Though to be fair, she had never really referred to him by name, which he had never really found strange, but now, it actually seemed to make a weird kind of sense.

"You can call me dad or father if you'd prefer." Her eyebrows furrowed, as if she were in pain, her expression becoming meek once more. Bruce shook his head, trying to ease her distress."Only if you want to. You don't have to."   
  
He kept his voice soft, doing everything in his power to get his point across. To make sure she understood that he wasn't giving her an order – something they were still working on – but rather, a choice.  
  
Her first one in a long time.   
  
"Would you be okay with that?" she asked, voice just as soft.   
  
Bruce felt his lips quirk. His grip on her hand tightened, but stayed gentle. "I would."   
  
"Would you _like_ that?"   
  
Too smart for her own good, this girl. She definitely was a Wayne, even if it wasn't by blood.   
  
Bruce mulled it over for a bit, even though he already knew the answer. Had known it for a little while now; hadn't even tried to deny it at first, which honestly said a lot. He’d compartmentalized, true, but had never outright denied the claim his heart had decided to squeeze out of him, whether he liked it or not.  
  
He would say denial was pointless, but the more emotional things in life did tend to make him pull his cold walls back into place, even if he would never outright admit to it.   
  
"I would."   
  
A very slight pause and then she nodded, standing strong despite the touch of fear in her eyes. Fear at baring even more of her soul. At baring her soul in front of an intimidating man like Bruce.   
  
Bruce could definitely understand that.   
  
"You really would?" She needed to be sure, still had her doubts. Well, Bruce needed to put those fears to rest once and for all.

Before he could open his mouth, Dick had come forward, clapping a hand on the millionaire's shoulder. "He means it, Chirithy. Believe me, Bruce doesn't waste words on things he doesn't mean."   
  
The words were spoken as a conspiratorial whisper, to help ease Chirithy's doubts, but they still rang true, especially to the little girl that needed reassurance now more than ever.   
  
Relief flooded her features, so palpable that Bruce, and no doubt Dick as well, could feel her exhaustion at keeping up this pretense for so long. Just dealing with everything she'd gone through.   
  
"I can guarantee you this big secret teddy bear here already considers you his daughter, too."   
  
"Dick," Bruce said, exasperated.   
  
"Bruce," he responded, cheekily.  
  
Sighing fondly, Bruce shook his head, pulling the girl, his girl, back into his arms.   
  
"As childish as he might be, he's right, you know."   
  
Chirithy just allowed herself to be held, curling close like a contented cat. Bruce stroked silver strands, hefting her up with ease and heading to the room in the manor that had since been made hers.   
  
He still wanted to furnish it in regards to her taste, but for now an interior decorator had helped him get it set up for a small girl, with cream walls, soft pastel curtains and a cherry oak hope chest with her name engraved on it.   
  
Already fast asleep in his arms, completely and utterly exhausted, Bruce didn't feel as bad when he gently handed her to Dick. "I'll go work on the logs."  
  
"Just don't stay up too late otherwise you'll be facing this one's wrath," the boy said with an impish grin, nuzzling the top of Chirithy’s head much like an older brother would.  
  
"She makes the rules now?" Bruce asked dryly.   
  
"Of course she does. You sound so surprised."   
  
As unconventional as it was, they were a family. A family Bruce was incredibly thankful for and a family that Batman would go all the way to hell and back for. Would take more demons onto his shoulders and into his mind, just to keep them safe.   
  
And he _would_ keep them safe, no matter the cost.  
  
~*~  
  
Chirithy might have only been five-years old, but she wasn't stupid. Every time Bruce and Dick went out at night, leaving her behind, suddenly Batman and Robin showed up on the news, patrolling Gotham.   
  
It was too coincidental. And the child was far smarter than most people bothered to give children in general credit for. She also...it was vague, blurry like a picture out of focus, but the night her parents died, she could remember only bits and pieces. One of those pieces – out of focus as it was – she was absolutely certain was Batman and Robin.   
  
Batman picking her up and cradling her close with strong arms. Arms like Bruce's. Robin rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. Like Dick always did.  
  
Clarity for that whole night wasn't needed; she _knew_ that the two most important men in her life were also the men who went out and protected Gotham every night. The men who had saved her. Had reignited life inside of her. Inspired her.   
  
She was working on her homework in the sitting room, but it had lost her attention long ago. Basically since the minute Batman and Robin came on the TV, much to Alfred's amusement.   
  
"Mistress Chirithy, are those stars that I see in your eyes?" he teased gently.   
  
Huffing, she sat back against the couch while crossing her arms. Trying to turn her attention away was futile, and after about thirty seconds, she was staring at the screen again as if hypnotized. They were so amazing, Chirithy couldn't even begin to describe it. How empowered they made her feel. Going out and protecting the city every night...it made the silver haired girl want to do something, anything, to help.   
  
Maybe she could help protect the city, too? Within reason, of course; she wasn't delusional, regardless of how it sounded. She just wanted to go out and fight alongside her heroes.   
  
"Maybe not stars, but most certainly a bit of inspiration, I'd wager."   
  
"Possibly more than a bit," Chirithy murmured faintly.   
  
A commercial came on, Batman and Robin disappearing from the screen, and the girl went back to her work, but not her schoolwork. She was in the middle of drawing a girl that looked like her, in a superhero costume complete with ballet slippers and, most importantly, bird wings. Bird wings for Robin, dark in color for Batman.   
  
Alfred came to set a plate of snacks on the table, cookies – something that Chirithy wouldn't really touch since she didn't like sweets – and peeked over Chirithy's shoulder at her drawing. The twinkle in his eyes seemed to soften, growing fond, while also retaining a deep sense of sorrow she couldn’t yet begin to comprehend.   
  
"Having thoughts of becoming a superhero, are we?"   
  
Chirithy hesitated before nodding slowly. "Yes."   
  
"But not out of the need for vengeance?" he questioned, now gravely serious.   
  
Frowning, she shook her head this time. Nothing would bring her parents back; young as she was, even she knew that. And it wasn't anger she felt at having lost them due to some wayward lowlife. Honestly, she felt almost numb to the pain now. It didn't hurt, exactly, but it didn't…not hurt. Chirithy wasn't sure what the feelings meant exactly, just that it wasn’t what Alfred said.  
  
"Vengeance won't bring them back. But there are still people who out there who need help, who can be saved. If there's something I can do to help them, no matter how small it is, then I want to. Batman and Robin, dad and Dick...they've inspired me. To do what I can."   
  
The sparkle back in Alfred's eyes, his mouth twitching up into a resigned smile, he held out a hand, startling Chirithy from her daydreaming. He didn't seem surprised that Chirithy knew who Batman and Robin really were. Of course he didn't. "Well, then, Mistress Chirithy, why don't you follow me?"   
  
Tilting her head, the girl stood up and took Alfred's hand hesitantly. When they started heading in the direction Chirithy knew the batcave was, she looked up at the butler with adorably curious eyes.   
  
"All dreams deserve the chance to become a reality," he said gently, letting go of the girl's hand so she could wander forward with wide eyes and tentative steps.   
  
Vaguely, she remembered this, but only vaguely, like a memory that water had been spilled all over and therefore smudged almost beyond recognition. The cave's size was monstrous to a little girl such as her, but having already 'seen' it before, she wasn't really as overwhelmed as would have otherwise been the case.   
  
Strangely enough, it almost felt like coming home. That night Batman and Robin had brought her here – what she could remember anyway – that was the start of everything. They'd taken her in, given her a home…all of it starting right here.  
  
Alfred brought up a holographic designing panel, causing Chirithy to jump in surprise and then scramble over to him in awe when she saw what he was doing. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, just like when she had watched Batman and Robin on screen. Alfred hid another smile."We'll need to be quick about this if we don't want Master Bruce suspecting anything."   
  
He put in a seemingly random order of keys on the console, but Chirithy knew better when a holographic full body catsuit popped up, followed by a pair of ballet slippers for the feet and then the wings.   
  
"The wings will no doubt be the hardest to make, as I'm assuming you do want to be able to 'fly', or rather glide with them, correct?"   
  
Chirithy looked down at her feet, suddenly feeling nervous and small as her excitement deflated. She wrung her hands together for something to keep them occupied. "Why are you helping me?" she asked quietly. "Aren't I too young for this; isn't it too dangerous? Won't dad be furious with you when he finds out?"   
  
Her delicate brows were furrowed, eyes suddenly wide with swimming emotions. She knew for a fact that if Bruce were here right now, he would indeed be furious and would have put a stop to it long before it even had the chance to start. Dousing her dreams as quickly as snuffing out a candle. Even Dick, laidback as he was, would be against it, she knew. Not just because of her age, but also because of how protective they both were. And if she knew that, then Alfred obviously did, too.   
  
"Mistress Chirithy, you're never too young to want to help people. Your father was only ten when he lost his own parents and started working toward becoming Batman. Did you know that?"   
  
Chirithy blinked up at him with surprised eyes. Whenever she pictured her dad deciding to become Batman for the first time – and it was something she imagined a lot – she saw him as a young adult. "Really?"   
  
"Now keep in mind, he had years of training – time to figure things out – but what Master Bruce will need to understand is that whether or not he agrees to this, your mind is already made up, is it not? Just like his was all those years ago."   
  
There was no hesitation as Chirithy nodded with determined eyes, though she still felt bad. It was just who she was. "It is."   
  
Alfred smiled. "Then it would be pointless to try and talk you out of this. It would be safer for you and even them if you were to be given help in your endeavor. Along with some prior training, of course."   
  
Perking up, she smiled. She still had her doubts about some things, like how to get past her terribly natural clumsiness for example, but she was starting to find some courage in the very unlikely form of the Wayne family butler. It wasn't like tonight was the first night she'd started having these thoughts, thoughts of becoming a superhero and fighting alongside Batman and Robin. She'd actually been having these thoughts for a couple months now, ever since the gala where she'd been introduced as the new child Bruce had adopted. Ever since that night when the gunshot had echoed throughout the ballroom and Bruce and Dick had been given no choice but to leave, suiting up and throwing themselves into danger, making it so that she could very well never see them again...

Ever since then, she'd been having these thoughts. Slowly coming up with her own superhero persona. She had always been a rather creative child and now it was finally paying off.   
  
Alfred could see it all in her eyes and was being incredibly supportive, despite her age being so young that it was only halfway to double digits. Chirithy felt an overwhelming gratitude bubble up inside her chest.   
  
Unable to contain it, she threw herself at the man for a hug, and even though clearly surprised, he indulged her until she pulled away.  
  
"You are quite welcome, my dear."  
  
Then her attention was back on the holographic costume in a heartbeat, eyes practically shining. "Now then, what were you saying about the wings..?"   
  
~*~   
  
Tonight was the night. The night that Chirithy would make her debut as a superhero, though a nameless one for now since she hadn't been able to come up with anything fitting yet.   
  
Bruce was starting to get suspicious, unsurprisingly. What was surprising was that it had taken this long, and by this long, about several months. But Alfred had known Bruce the CEO's whole life, had helped him design and create all the technology used as Batman, so thankfully the butler had a few tricks of his own up his sleeve.  
  
Still, it was only a matter of time until Bruce figured it all out and put a stop to all of Chirithy's hopes and dreams. Chirithy didn't care if she was five, she wouldn't let that happen.   
  
She'd been training so fiercely so often, her dedication clear as day. Astonishingly, she could actually be graceful when concentrating hard enough, her clumsiness practically disappearing like it didn't even exist. That's how much she wanted this; even her body had gotten the memo.   
  
Her costume didn't have a spot in the cave yet, as that definitely would have tipped Bruce off, so for now she was keeping it in her room. The plan was to wait until he and Dick left to go on patrol for the night and then sneak out after them. They would definitely know if she tried to hide in the back of the batmobile, so that was not an option under any circumstances. Alfred had already assured her, when Bruce had been at the office for the day that he would wait until Batman and Robin were patrolling a smaller area of the city to drive her a little ways out so she could then meet up with them.  
  
Bruce would not be happy, Chirithy knew, and she was trying to brace herself for his inevitable wrath. Dick wouldn't be furious, exactly, but he would be thoroughly displeased and disappointed. And while Chirithy hated people being disappointed in her, that wasn't going to stop her from doing this.   
  
Deep breath. Pretend like she was getting ready for bed, making sure to hide her costume before both Bruce and Dick came to tuck her in. Heart pounding. The pair leaving. Deep breath in, deep breath out. She could do this.   
  
She waited a couple minutes to take out her costume, just in case, running a reverent hand down every piece. A part of her still couldn't believe it. The main piece was a navy blue catsuit, the same as her original design, with a short, white tulle skirt, a piece of fabric removed from the middle, leaving the entire length of her legs exposed in the front, and white ballet slippers.   
  
Always having loved dancers and dancing in general had been the main reason for her design, though she'd also wanted to imply grace as well as a quiet kind of strength.   
  
But the wings, _the wings_ were her favorite part. They looked so real...the feathers even felt real, too. They were a bit smaller than she would have liked, but Alfred said that they shouldn't be too big as that wouldn't be proportional to her size.   
  
She was also wearing her hair down for once, her long bangs coming to lie past the bridge of her nose and hiding part of her face. She figured it was the closest she could get to making her hair look different since she couldn't change the color. And she really did look different with her hair down; almost like a different person. A different person with silver hair...just like her. She sighed.   
  
"Alright. Time to shine. And then possibly get grounded for this life and the life after."   
  
Squaring her shoulders, she dressed quickly, sparing a couple seconds to give herself a onceover in the mirror. This was it. It was really happening.   
  
Finally, the mask. A simple masquerade style mask, black and in the shape of a butterfly.   
  
She barely recognized herself, simple as the costume was, but then, that was the point. "Enough dillydallying," she said with a firm nod.   
  
She made her way down to the cave, exiting it and meeting Alfred at their rendezvous point after making sure no one else was around. Alfred hadn't been able to do much in terms of training her physically, other than putting her through a small variety of beginner mode simulations, but mentally, he'd been drilling the necessary basics in her head since the very first day.   
  
That being said, the pair was taking every precaution possible, including the car. It wasn't one of Bruce's and the windows were tinted. Chirithy wouldn't be surprised if Alfred planned to have it impounded well before the night was even over.   
  
"Are you ready to fly tonight, Mistress Chirithy?" the man asked with a smile.  
  
She nodded, jittery. Fretting. "Do you think he'll be mad enough to send me away for someone else to adopt me?"   
  
"Master Bruce cares too much for you to do such a thing. He will be as mad as he is simply because he cares."  
  
Trying her best to believe that was easier said than done. He had shown time and time again that he cared, always trying to be mindful of her feelings and what she wanted, even if it wasn't always the easiest for him. Still, that didn't stop her anxious mind from over thinking.   
  
"Here we are."   
  
Chirithy jerked as the car slowed to a stop, breaking out of her condemning thoughts with a start.   
  
"They are right up the street on the other side. Will you be able to manage alright?" 

"Yes. If we get any closer, my cover will be blown and I'll get sent home before I even get to do anything."  
  
Alfred nodded. "All right. Best of luck, Mistress Chirithy. And remember your training."   
  
She nodded, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. Getting out of the car was actually the hard part, nervous as she was, but then once her dance shoes met the pavement, she was fine. Adrenaline coursing through her veins as her excitement returned tenfold. Her nervous energy had to be pushed to the side for tonight to go off without a hitch.  
  
Alfred drove off, leaving her alone, but strangely enough, she wasn't at all afraid, only exhilarated. Darting up the lengthy street was the first step of business; then came finding a good spot to hide, far enough away that she wouldn't be prematurely spotted, but also close enough to where she'd be able to hear what was going on, therefore perfectly timing her debut.  
  
She was nearly there. It was almost time.  
  
~*~  
  
Batman had a bad feeling, one of foreboding, though he couldn't say why. The villain he and Robin were currently facing down was one new to Gotham's circle of villains, specifically the one who had teamed up with the Riddler the night of the gala.   
  
His gut feeling had been right when telling him that this man would not be going places, villain or otherwise. Which bode well for the night's schedule, as it meant this showdown wouldn't take very long at all.   
  
And speaking of gut feelings...the Bat couldn't place what was wrong, but something was. This was his city, after all, and it was trying to tell him something, but that something would have to wait until after they took down this pitiful clown.  
  
"Give it up, dynamic duo. You might have bested me before but that was merely luck and nothing more."   
  
Bruce would have given such a poor waste of words a mocking smirk and nothing more. The guy wasn't even cocky, just someone who was in serious denial. He and Arkham would get along well. But because the Bat was out for the night, he said nothing, just prepared to give the guy a particularly fierce wakeup call, until a blood cold chill ran through him.

"They're Batman and Robin. You'll never be able to beat them!"   
  
Batman whirled, seeing something he had never, absolutely ever, wanted to see. Chirithy, so obviously the silver haired girl, dressed up in a costume with a simple, black mask like Robin's and very realistic fake wings, of all things.   
  
She looked proud, her tiny body quivering with barely contained excitement. Her hands on her hips, with her lips quirked up in a smirk reminiscent of one of Bruce's, she probably thought she looked the very picture of a hero that actually posed a threat, but in reality, she looked exactly like what she was. A child.  
  
His inattention cost him, or would have if Robin hadn't intercepted the villain trying to rush Batman while his back was foolishly turned. Robin beat back the man with a swift series of kicks, his mouth set in its own displeased line just as Batman's was.  
  
Chirithy darted forward, trying to throw herself into the fray, to prove herself, but Batman caught her with only one arm, effectively blocking her path with so much ease, it was painful.   
  
Turning his attention back to the fight, he saw that Robin had easily beat the man into submission, already cuffing him and tying him up for the police to find when they did their own rounds for the night.  
  
With the threat taken care of, Batman knelt down in front of the little girl, lips pulled into a frown so tight he was snarling at her. "What the hell are you doing out here? You think this is some kind of game? You could have been killed! In fact, if it had been any other villain, you just might have."   
  
Chirithy's face fell, but she squared her shoulders and stared right back at him like she'd been expecting his reaction. Batman wasn't sure whether he should feel proud at this little fact, or sickened.  
  
"Robin, take her back to the cave _now_. I'll do one quick sweep of the city and meet you there."   
  
Robin pulled Chirithy up into a protective hold, nodding solemnly. "Roger that, Batman."   
  
Then without a moment's hesitation, they were off into the night, leaving Batman to contend with a dark well of thoughts threatening to drown him, even as strong as he was. She was a child, so small and fragile, literally like a baby bird. All the different scenarios of what could have happened played out in his head like a damaged reel of film, and his hands clenched into furious fists at his side. If their enemy had been an actual threat like the Joker...The hero could barely fight back his shudder at the thought.  
  
It was obvious she had received help to pull this off. Though especially smart for her age, she still was only five-years old and could not have done any of this by herself. The costume, getting out this far into the city without getting killed...  
  
There was only one person capable of being the culprit. Alfred. The Bat wasn't sure if he felt more betrayed by that or simply more furious.   
  
_She was a little girl.  
_  
Thought after damning thought went through his head – not as much of an impenetrable fortress as people thought – and with a snarl, Batman leapt into the shadows, not ready by any means to do this last round of patrol, but also not really having a choice in the matter. In the meantime, he knew Robin would give the girl a very stern tongue lashing that would leave her regretting that she'd ever thought of something this insanely dangerous in the first place, let alone actually gone and done it.  
  
And if she thought Dick's talking to would be bad, she'd more than likely go to bed that night utterly heartbroken and never wanting to speak to Bruce again after his. He wasn't looking forward to it either, but it had to be done. She had to know that this wasn't okay. Getting vengeance for her parents wouldn't do anything for her, especially not at her young age. It would only leave her feeling more empty than before, and thinking back to those first few days of his daughter as nothing more than a shell, that was something he did not want at any cost.  
  
This was not going to be easy. In fact, it would probably be one of the hardest things he'd ever done. "Damn it."  
  
~*~   
  
Robin carried the girl with ease, taking care not to jostle her too much, but wanting to get her back to the manor as quickly as possible, too. Gotham's streets were dangerous enough during the day, but at night that danger turned far more sinister and deadly. He wanted his girl out at night about as much as he wanted the Joker free from Arkham, translating to not at all, ever. It didn't even need to be said because at this point, it was simply fact.  
  
"What were you thinking?" he murmured into her hair, pressing her even closer to him. He wanted to yell, to scream himself hoarse with fury – at Alfred, too, for obviously helping her – but she was obviously expecting that, and he just couldn't bring himself to. He was far more scared than angry, anyway.   
  
She pressed her face against his neck and sighed. It sounded sad, but also like she had seen this scenario coming from a mile away.   
  
But this was more than just a game of dress up; didn't she understand that? Robin knew she was smarter than that. She was already reading books like Moby Dick at only five-years old. He knew that she knew the severity of what she'd done, had obviously known beforehand, so why on Earth had she done it?   
  
"I was thinking that I wanted to help protect the city like the two of you."   
  
Breath catching painfully in his chest, Robin dropped them down in front of the entrance to the cave, finally home and yet, that didn't make Robin feel any better. "You're just a kid. You can't possibly think that –"   
  
"So were you."   
  
As soon as they were inside the cave and its protective walls, Chirithy wriggled free from the teenager's grasp even though it was painfully obvious she just wanted to stay curled up close to him. When he stepped forward and made to reach for her, she just pulled away again, face set in a determined scowl.   
  
She was being stubborn again, something still so odd to see because of her normal tractable nature. Robin stared at her, wide eyed.  
  
" _So were you._ You became Robin when you were just a kid. Why am I any different?"   
  
She had a point. _Why_ did she have a point? Granted, he'd been older than her when he had become Robin, but also still a child. Hell, he was still technically a child now, as a teenager.   
  
Frozen at first, it took him a couple seconds to reach up and take his mask off, so that she was facing Dick and not Robin. Then he reached out for her mask, taking care to remove it gently. He held the two of them, his and hers, side by side, and suddenly it was all clear.  
  
Dick didn't want it to be, god, he didn't want it to be, but looking at their masks together, he could see what she meant clear as crystal. That didn't mean that he would take any of this just sitting down, hell no. And while he knew it was pointless to try and change her mind, he could at least make sure she knew just what she was getting into, though he was nearly positive she already knew. He could make sure she knew just what she'd have to do, how hard she would have to work for this. How hard he would make her work for this.  
  
Sighing, he took her hand, feeling a questionable relief when she allowed the contact instead of pulling away again. There was so much wrong with all this, with this situation, with him and how he was just letting this go...but he simply saw too much of his younger self in her to be able to do anything else.   
  
Even normally docile and obedient as she was, she would not ever let this go, because she believed in it. She believed it was the right thing to do, and that was exactly why Dick had come up with Robin. Because he believed it to be the right thing to do; and it had been. It still was.  
  
And when thinking about it even deeper with his sharp mind, Dick knew that there were plenty of other dangerous professions she could pick from – though with those, she would at least be older – but he would still worry about her with all of his heart, regardless of what she chose. And this was it.  
  
"This is all kinds of messed up, you know that, right?"   
  
"I'm not sorry," she responded bravely, chin up.   
  
Dick had to smile at that, chuckling softly. She really was like him. It was endearing, if also infuriating. "No, of course you're not. Come on, let's get changed and head upstairs to wait for Bruce. He is beyond pissed, I can tell you that."   
  
Her brows furrowed. "You don't need to tell me that because I already know."   
  
"And I kind of want to yell at Alfred for encouraging you, but I guess it was better than letting you do this all on your own. Takes doing something drastic to get someone as immovable as Bruce to understand you’re serious, huh?"

"That’s exactly the reason why so don't you dare yell at Alfred, Dick. I'll never speak to you again. He made sure I had a decent amount of training first."   
  
“A decent amount, but not enough.” Her little face was deadly serious so Dick didn't push the issue any more than that. Though it was cute to see her all protective, with her feathers ruffled, pretty much literally. "I will say that Bruce will at least begrudgingly be proud of you for being able to keep this from him. He's not exactly an easy person to hide things from."   
  
“He was starting to suspect something was up, which was why I decided to make my move this soon.”

When the silver haired girl stayed silent after that, offering no more to the conversation, Dick decided the best course of action here would be to lighten the mood. She could definitely use some levity before Bruce came back and things went straight to hell. Again."Which is why he makes it so hard to buy Christmas and birthday presents for."   
  
That did the trick, and in only a matter of seconds, she was giggling that precious, little laugh that was like bells. Her shoulders slumped in relief and she pressed against his side weakly, no doubt exhausted from everything that had gone on.   
  
Dick didn't waste any time changing out of his costume, relieved when Chirithy popped back out after quickly changing into regular clothes, too. Heading upstairs, Dick knew this strange, static calm wouldn't last forever. Bruce was furious and with good reason, so he knew it would not be pretty when the man got home and set his sights immediately on Alfred.   
  
He was actually grateful to the graying man because it would have been so much worse if Chirithy had gone and done this on her own, which was more than likely the reason he had done so in the first place, and deep down, Bruce had to know that, too.  
  
Dick sighed. What a mess.   
  
"Are you mad?" Chirithy murmured as they made themselves comfortable in the living room.   
  
He pulled her close, unable to resist dropping a kiss onto her hair. She cuddled into his side sleepily, but her eyes were wide open. She wouldn’t be falling asleep until after she and Bruce hashed things out. "Mad? Surprisingly no. I almost wish I was, but more than anything, I'm terrified."   
  
"Terrified?" She looked up at him curiously, as if she couldn't quite believe him.   
  
"Well, yeah, Chiribird. What Bruce and I do is dangerous. You're so small and, don't get mad at me, weak, that it would be so easy for an enemy to take advantage of the situation and hurt you."   
  
"That's why Alfred's been helping me train."   
  
She didn't seem put out by Dick calling her weak, but rather, inspired, using it as fuel with the intention of working even harder. Dick felt a flare of pride at this amazing, little girl, so thankful – and not for the first time – that she'd come into his and Bruce's lives.  
  
Speaking of, right on cue, the sound of thundering footsteps down the hall was their only warning before the doors to the living room slammed, literally slammed open. Bruce immediately zeroed in on Alfred, standing dutifully off to the side with ever watchful eyes. The butler didn't seem fazed, not even flinching in the face of such heavy anger.   
  
Before Bruce could even say anything in regards to Alfred, Chirithy scrambled up, coming to stand in front of her dad with narrowed eyes.  
  
"Don't you dare yell at him. He doesn't deserve it."   
  
Gaze flitting to his daughter, Bruce dialed the vicious anger in his gaze back a few meters, but that didn't mean he would go easy on her whatsoever. "Chirithy. Not only did he know what you were planning, he helped you do it. Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in tonight?"   
  
"I-"   
  
"What you did was reckless and foolish. I would have thought you knew better."   
  
He wouldn't sugarcoat it; as harsh with his words as he needed to be. Chirithy needed to understand the severity of what she'd done. When she flinched at his words, the millionaire felt a pang of guilt but it also meant that his words were getting through.  
  
"Bruce, enough," Dick finally spoke up.  
  
Bruce glared at Dick in disbelief. "I would have thought you agreed with me on this. You can't give in to her wishes just because she gives you the puppy dog eyes, Dick. You have to stand your ground."   
  
"Yes, what she did tonight was dangerous, but can you imagine how much worse it would have been if she hadn't gotten Alfred's help?"   
  
Narrowing his eyes, now the iciest of blues, Bruce had to use all his mental exercises as Batman just to keep calm. Because Dick had a point. _Dick had a point._ Damn it.  
  
Bruce held up a single hand, stopping Dick from saying any more. "It doesn't matter because she will not be doing this again. Ever."   
  
"Yes, I will! I'll train however hard you want me to, I'll do whatever you want me to, I'll do things your way... _please._ "  
  
He had never heard her sound quite this frantic before, had never seen her quite this agitated. With a deep sigh, he knelt down in front of her, taking her gently by the shoulders. "Why are you doing this? Vengeance? Chirithy, that's not the answer. I know you know that."   
  
Chirithy stepped roughly from Bruce's hold, glaring at him with smoky eyes showing the deepest depths of emotion that the man had ever seen in his life.  
  
"That's not the reason! I know it won't bring my parents back. I know it won't change anything. That's not why I want to do this."   
  
Bruce's gaze turned solemn. If she knew that it was pointless, then why? Why go to all this trouble for something that had no meaning for her? "Why, then?" he asked quietly.   
  
"How can you not see it? The answer's right in front of you! It's because Batman and Robin – you and Dick – **inspired** me!"  
  
…What? Bruce prided himself on guessing every next move from everyone around him, but this was honestly something he would never have in a million years expected.  
  
"You inspired me to want to try and make the world, or at least Gotham, a better place. You and Dick. If I can keep even one person from having to go through what I did, then why wouldn't I try?"   
  
Flabbergasted, the CEO had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. For once in his life, he was utterly speechless. How was he supposed to respond to something so innocent? The complete opposite of vengeance.   
  
But in the long run, it didn't matter, regardless of how much telling her so would break her heart. "It's too dangerous. You're just a child. _My_ child, and I will not let anything happen to you."   
  
Dick knelt beside Chirithy, completely in the little girl's corner even if the whole idea hurt him just as much as it was obviously hurting Bruce.   
  
"Not to defend her point since I technically agree with you, but I was a child when I first became Robin. Technically, I still am child even though I'll kick your butt if you say that to my face."   
  
Bruce glared at the boy. Dick took it in stride, having seen it coming from light years away, and glared right back at him. "You're not helping, Dick."   
  
"Yeah, but I'm also not lying," he retorted easily.  
  
"It's too dangerous," Bruce repeated, putting booming enunciation on every word.  
  
"You do realize that if we tell her no and don't let her do this, she'll just do it on her own, right? Do you really want her going out there with all those psychopaths on the streets with none of the proper training None of _your_ training?"   
  
Bruce's glare turned lethal. "Do you really want her going out there with all those psychopaths on the streets at all?"   
  
Dick sighed, dropping his glare and finally letting his exhaustion show. Willing Bruce to see the pure terror in his gaze at the mere thought of such a thing alone. "You know I don't, Bruce. But if she's going to go and do it anyway, wouldn't it be best for all of us if she were trained to fight? Trained to get out of a bad situation? Trained to call for help if she needed it?" Dick especially stressed that last part. "Alfred can't give her the training we can, Bruce. The fighting experience. But _we_ can give that to her and you know it."   
  
Bruce looked away from Dick and back at Chirithy. She didn't look hopeful, instead her eyes were burning, pure and stubborn. Dick was right; she absolutely wouldn't let this go.   
  
As a father, Bruce wanted to lock her away in her room if it would keep her safe, but he also knew that in doing so, he would be caging her like a pitifully broken bird and killing her from the inside out.   
  
As Batman, she was a child and children shouldn't have to fight, especially when the opponents were cunning, lethal adults that didn't give a damn about the age or fragility of their prey. But he had trained Robin so he could train her, too. Make sure that she had access to everything in his arsenal to keep herself safe.   
  
Bruce had never felt so at war with his two sides before. He knew which side was right. He just wished that it wasn't.   
  
He raised a hand to rub at his daughter's scar. She hadn't lost any of the determination in her eyes; if anything, she seemed to have more than before. Bruce stared her down, all severe seriousness. She stared right back, unafraid.   
  
Bruce could never forget that in all the ways she wasn't like Dick, she was like _him._ He was terrified, but he couldn't deny that he was also incredibly proud. "If at any time during your training, you want to quit, will you say so?"   
  
"I won't quit."   
  
"Chirithy."  
  
Her hands clenched into tiny fists. "Yes. I will."   
  
"Will you do what I say when I say it, no matter what?"   
  
She raised her chin even higher. "Yes."   
  
"Will you let me protect you when you need it?"   
  
At that, she seemed to falter, seemingly imagining him or Dick in one of the many scenarios they'd already pictured her in. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and returned her gaze to his. Ice on smoke.   
  
She would work hard, train hard to become strong, so that it would hopefully never come to that. Hopefully not that often anyway. "Yes."   
  
When Bruce and the Bat sensed nothing but the utmost conviction in her, he nodded slowly. "All right."   
  
The whole room seemed to share a collective sigh of relief, all the tension finally draining away and leaving utter exhaustion in its wake. Chirithy's shoulders slumped, but before she could collapse from said exhaustion, Bruce was pulling her into his arms in a fierce embrace.   
  
"You scared the hell out of me, young lady. Don't think you're getting off the hook so easy just because I agreed to this," he murmured gruffly.   
  
She hugged him back just as tight. "I wouldn't dream of it."   
  
~*~   
  
The radio played softly, simply as background noise while Bruce worked in his study on leftover paperwork. His focus wasn't fully on his work, but it wasn't the radio that was the cause. Instead it was Chirithy, who was sitting on the couch against the wall, swinging her legs idly while working on homework.   
  
Bruce fought back a smile at the sight. Her lessons done for the day, she was incredibly anxious to get to the training session the Bat had planned for her that night, just as she was every night.   
  
Anxious, but excited. And it was adorable. She had flourished so much in the short time since Bruce and Dick had begun training her. Bruce wanted to say that it made him feel better about the whole thing, about a child – his child – learning how to fight, but it didn't, not really.   
  
But he had promised to let her do this just as she had promised to do things on his terms. It was a process, possibly one that would be forever ongoing.  
  
He watched as she set aside the last of her homework and looked up at him with a hopeful smile. Bruce shook his head with a small smile of his own. "Patience, Chirithy."  
  
She opened her mouth to come back with a witty retort, courtesy of Dick’s teaching, but quieted as soon as the radio started playing the next song's chorus, the lyrics capturing her attention straight away.  
  
_Tell my mother, tell my father  
I've done the best I can  
To make them realize  
This is my life  
I hope they understand   
I'm not angry, I'm just saying  
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance  
_  
Bruce didn't hesitate to turn the radio down after that, not liking that Chirithy had heard any of what she did. It wasn't a bad song by any means, but the lyrics seemed a little too close to home for someone who had just lost their parents like she had.   
  
Saying the words 'mother' and 'father' and talking about saying goodbye? Bruce just didn't like the thought of her listening to something like that. Several months – half a year in fact – might have passed, but it could still be too fresh. She never talked about her life before the manor or her birth parents, so there wasn’t much to go by.  
  
However, she seemed to be of a different opinion than her dad, her smoky eyes gleaming thoughtfully.  
  
Bruce went back to his work with a sigh. He had no clue what his daughter could possibly be scheming, but he was sure he would find out soon enough.   
  
"Dad? Can we...can we go visit my parents' graves?"   
  
Again, his girl kept surprising him at every turn, keeping the CEO poised on his toes. Bruce blinked, trying to take it in. Come to think of it, she hadn't been to see her parents since the funeral, something Bruce still felt a tad guilty for. Everything had just been so hectic lately, but that was a poor excuse and he knew it.  
  
"Yes." He cleared his throat. "Whatever you want, Chirithy."   
  
She stood up, trotting over to him with earnest eyes. Taking his hand, she gave it a gentle tug. "Can we go now?"   
  
No matter what he did – and no matter what she did – he could never resist those eyes.  
  
"I don't know, can we?" he teased, ruffling her hair with his free hand.   
  
"May we?" she asked again, tugging harder this time.  
  
"All right, all right." He shifted his papers into two piles, of ones that had been completed and ones that still needed done, and then took her small hand in his own, pressing her close to his side as they left the room. "Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"   
  
Bruce had a feeling it was due to the song that had played on the radio, more than a feeling, more like he knew, and couldn't deny that he was curious.  
  
"I just...haven't seen them since the funeral and I thought of something I could tell them." She had quieted, but wasn't retreating or pulling away into a shell inside herself, so Bruce could only guess that was a good sign. He still frowned, a part of him wishing he could pull her even closer under his protective wing, as she loved physical affection more than anyone else he knew.   
  
"I'm sure they'll be happy to hear from you," he assured softly.  
  
"Mmm."   
  
The car ride was quiet, unsurprisingly so, and Bruce kept glancing at his daughter through the rearview mirror every so often. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap and the one time she caught him staring, she sent him a small smile.   
  
When the car stopped, more like the second it stopped, Chirithy jumped out and dashed ahead of Bruce, knowing exactly where her parents were even though she had only seen them that first initial time. Bruce followed at a more sedate pace, wanting to give her some time alone with them, which was more than likely something the girl needed.  
  
Warmth filled him as he watched her from afar. She wasn't distraught, wasn't crying her eyes out, which would have only made Bruce's already broken heart ache all over again. Instead she seemed freer than she had in a long time, even in a way that she didn't show in training. She knelt down, placing the flowers she and Bruce had brought in between both graves and also around them with the utmost care.   
  
Kindness, love, sorrow, hope. All of these radiated from her like soft rays of sunshine, only intensifying when she turned back to smile at him, holding out one of her hands.   
  
As Batman, Bruce was someone who preferred to stay in the shadows, always watching from behind the scenes, keeping more to himself and just preferring the veil of night as a whole in general. But with Chirithy, the exposing light didn't scare him, didn't make him as uncomfortable as it once did. Quite the opposite, actually. It drew him to her like a moth to a flame, just as she seemed irrevocably drawn to the shadows he always cast in his wake. They were one in the same.   
  
Bruce didn't hesitate to walk forward and take her hand in his once more.   
  
"Did you have a nice talk with them?" he asked with a soft smile.  
  
Nodding, she turned her gaze back to the graves, specifically the flowers now surrounding them, which were an odd mix of chrysanthemums, forget-me-nots and roses, and spoke in a tone of voice softer than Bruce had ever heard from her.  
  
"I hated to have to lose you, but if I hadn't, then I never would have met Bruce and Dick...and even Alfred.  
  
Eyes narrowing in understanding, Bruce now knew what it was the song on the radio had inspired in his daughter. Therefore, he heard her next words before she even spoke them.   
  
"Sometimes goodbye is a second chance," she murmured, giving each grave a sweet caress.  
  
To anyone else, to anyone that didn't understand, it would seem incredibly cliche, cheesy even, but it was easily the sweetest thing Bruce had ever heard, forcing his heart to beat again with a fiercely proud ache.  
  
Her knelt down in front of her, gently taking her by the shoulders.  
  
"I will always protect you."   
  
It was the only thing he could think to say, the only thing that seemed to fit, some of the only words that conveyed just how much she meant to him.  
  
"I know you will," she responded solemnly. Then she stepped forward, up on her tiptoes so that she could wrap her arms around his neck with relative ease. "But please let me protect you, too."   
  
They both knew she was small and so inexperienced, but Bruce had promised her, and a promise was a promise. He wrapped his arms around her, for once content in the simple act of just holding someone close. What he'd really love to do would be to tuck her away inside of him, always with him and always safe, safe from the outside world and all the horrors that came with it. Since that wasn't practical or even possible, but definitely selfish, he settled for just holding her close while he could.   
  
When she pulled away, settling back on the balls of her feet, she gave him another infectious smile. “Would you like to go visit your parents now?”

She said a simple sentence with such tender innocence that even if Bruce wanted to let his walls come back up around him, clamping down on his irreparably scarred psyche like a vice at such an intrusion, he just wouldn’t be able to. Not with those wide, trusting eyes looking at him like he was the world.

He just managed to nod, not wanting to take his burning gaze off her for even a moment.

“I’m guessing it’s been awhile since you last visited?”

He managed a smile for her, holding out his hand as they started walking toward another set of graves in the distance. “Yeah, it has.”  
  
  
~End~  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Whew...if you made it the whole way through that 20k+, not only do I applaud your serious effort and patience, but know that I am extremely touched, too. I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did, and just know that I have a lot more planned with this character in the near and distant future. There are three main parts, or "Arcs" to her story, some interludes that fall in between each one timeline wise, and just a bunch of other small and big things altogether. I'm excited (but also hella nervous) to share them with you guys!
> 
> Again, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, but also please stay kind. Please leave any feedback you might have, as it would seriously mean the world to me, and if you like Chirithy or have any future ideas you would possibly like to see with her, please let me know. :)
> 
> I also went through and made changes/spellchecked/edited this thing about four times now so hopefully there aren't any typos, but if you did/do notice any mistakes, please let me know! 
> 
> Love you guys - and until next time,  
> Edea


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